


Strong enough (to fight by his side)

by stereden



Series: Strong enough [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Aizen should have known better, Bad Ass Nanao, Bad Ass Nanao/Shunsui teamwork, Based on theories after chapter 650, F/M, Gen, Not canon after 650, Okyou as Nanao's zanpakuto, Slight Shunsui/Nanao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-05-04 08:15:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5327066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stereden/pseuds/stereden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a treat, really, to see her fight. They were a great team, Nanao and Okyou, a beautiful and haunting duo, dragging their prey down in a spiral of madness and children’s game.</p><p>In which Aizen makes a mistake, and pays the price of his arrogance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strong enough (to fight by his side)

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot is a continuation/another version of "Strong enough (to be his weakness)", with a take on what could have been Nanao's zanpakuto based on chapter 650. The first part of the chapter is the same as the previously mentionned fic.
> 
> This take on her zanpakuto and on her backstory has been invalidated by the latest chapters, of course, but I still wrote it, so here you go!

Despite his many faults (and lack of sanity), Aizen Sousuke was an extremely intelligent man, as he had demonstrated by managing to fool Soul Society for so long.

As such, he knew that there were certain elements who could easily overpower even the primera espada and, as such, might throw a wrench in his plans.

Soi-Fong would not cause any trouble. She was still too young, too immature and too hung up on Shihouin leaving her behind. Kuchiki and Abarai held a grudge about him using the younger Kuchiki and would not be able to think straight. Same with Hitsugaya and Komamura. Kurotsuchi was an unknown, but if nothing else he could throw Szayzel or Barrigan at him and they would at the very least keep him occupied long enough.

 Really, this generation of Captains was dramatically subpar when compared to the previous one. Even before his intervention, the Gotei had been rebuilt several times, with only four captains remaining from the founding days. His experiment had gotten rid of nearly half the serving captains in one fell swoop, leading to people being promoted before their time. Getting rid of the two Shiba menaces had been an boon.

Urahara, Tessai and Shihouin might be of some trouble. But they were still technically exiles, and knowing the scientist he would wait until the last moment to show up.

But still, the four remaining first generation captains were strong. There was Yamamoto, of course, and he would not underestimate the power of the captain-commander, but the old man was more likely to let the others fight before involving himself. And when he did, well, that’s what Wonderweiss was for. Unohana might, and she was older than Yamamoto so, despite never having seen her fight, he was wary of her. But the healer would probably be kept out of the fight, since she would be more useful with the injured.

 No, the real trouble would come from the dual-wielding captains. Kyoraku and Ukitake had been a thorn in his side ever since his ascencion to Shinigami. They had never really been fooled by his facade, had never trusted him, always keeping an eye on his action. Despite their harmless image, they were Yamamoto’s first students and hadn’t gotten their rank by nepotism alone. They fought rarely, unsheated their swords even less often becaue they were strong enough that they didn’t need their zanpakuto to fight Hollows off. Aizen had seen them fight once, fight for real, and though neither of them had used their bankai, it had terrified him. Should one of them, or worse, both of them get to him before the transformation… No. It couldn’t be allowed to come to that.

Starrk, Barrigan, Yami-Zero would not be enough to deal with these two if they got serious, and he couldn’t afford to face them himself before the transformation.

That left him with three choices. Make them angry enough to make mistakes (and pray that it wouldn’t just make them more focused), but the results were too impredictable and them going berserker on him was not a risk he was willing to take. Find a way to break them psychologically could work, but they would not be affected by his more potent illusions, they were too powerful for that. Or he could find some leverage on them to keep them out of the fight.

Using the ninth espada might work on Ukitake. If he combined it with asking Szayzel to create a chemical that would induce an illness attack… yes, that would work.

As for Kyoraku… for all his strenghts, the man had one glaring weakness that he proclaimed daily for the world to hear : his dear Nanao-chan, the girl he had taken under his wing after losing Lisa. The girl herself was nothing special, a good kido practitionner and an excellent administrator, certainlz, but no combat operative. Capturing her would be easy, and if he threathened to turn her into a Hollow just like her predecessor, the captain of the Eight would be willing to do anything to keep her safe from harm.

With that in mind, he ordered Harribel and Ulquiorra to capture her at the same time as the Orihime girl – but to keep them apart upon arrival. They were to leave a message to the Eight’s captain, letting him know that his lieutenant’s safety depended on his behaviour during the fight to come. The kidnapping went off without a hitch, and Aizen left the lieutenant to the cells while he focused on the human girl.

It is too bad, really, that he didn’t think to consult Ichimaru Gin on the matter. Then again, given the man’s true motive, the man who loved Matsumoto Rangiku would probably have kept his mouth shut. As it was, as soon as he heard that Ise was being held prisonner in Los Noches, the silver-headed fox decided to simply watch for now… from a distance. From a safe, far distance.

* * *

Aizen Sousuke was an extremely intelligent man, as he had demonstrated by managing to fool Soul Society for so long.

Aizen Sousuke, for someone so very intelligent, was an idiot.

* * *

Lisa had once be close enough to Kyoraku to be considered one of his weaknesses, and losing her had nearly destroyed the man, leaving Nanao to pick up the pieces.

Did Aizen really think that either of them would allow something like this to happen again?

After having Lisa snatched away so cruelly, Kyoraku had been wary of letting anyone else get close to him unless they could take care of themselves.

Ans Ise Nanao would never allow herself to be the cause of similar grief to her taicho as her predecessor had been. She was his vice-captain, and his equal in everything but rank.

Both of them were well aware that she was his weakness.

The only reason _anyone else_ was aware of that fact was simple.

**She was strong enough to be his weakness. Strong enough to fight be his side without shame.**

* * *

Aizen Sousuke was an extremely intelligent man, as he had demonstrated by managing to fool Soul Society for so long.

Aizen Sousuke, for someone so very intelligent, was an idiot.

* * *

He did not realise that immediately. He was surprised to see Kyoraku in the fake Karakura town, but he was fighting halfheartedly against Starkk so he let it go and focused on the more important threats.

He _should_ have known something was wrong when Kyoraku actually attacked him directly, but at the time the man had no other options left to him so he did not think more about it.

Had he kept a communication with Los Noches, Aizen might not have been so confident about his plan.

Had he kept a communication with Los Noches, he might have known that as soon as the battle for the fake town started, Ise Nanao escaped from her cell and disappeared from the surveillance cameras.

He might have known that, approximately ten minutes after her escape, Yami was found dead and dismembered. Five minutes after that, Szayzel was slaughtered in his lab. The non-ranked Arrancars that had been left behind were dead within twenty minutes of the lieutenant’s disappearance. Within an hour, the only Espada left was Ulquiorra, who was guarding Orihime Inoue. It should be pointed out that Arionero was disposed of with extreme prejudice.

He might have known that, by the time his forces had run the Gotei ragged, Ulqiuiorra met his end in a gruesome manner.

He might have known that, by the time the Visored arrived, Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia, Sado, Abarai Renji and Uryuu Ishida had arrived  at the castle having encountered no resistance whatsover. By the time Unohana Retsu, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Kurotsuchi Nemu, Kuchiki Byakuya and Zaraki Kenpachi joined them, the castle was crumbling and the former group, along with Orihime, were starring at Ise-fukutaicho with a healthy dose of respect and fear.

He might have known that, as he cut down Kyoraku, the captains in Hueco Mundo were about to ask about what happened, the lieutenant started swearing, her wrist pressed by her ear, and caught everyone in a kido net. Only the captain of Twelfth and his second were exempt.

He might have known that as soon as she did that, she disappeared in a pool of shadows, dragging the flabbergasted group behind her, amethyst eyes flaring with angry reiatsu.

* * *

 

And he might have had some warning before the kido ball blew up in his face when said lieutenant reappeared in front of her fallen captain, hands lit with kido and pure fury on her face. The rest of the Hueco Mundo group had landed behind her, and Unohana immediately went to work on Kyoraku’s injuries.

Ichimaru took one look at her and promptly defected after making an attempt at Aizen’s life. It fails, of course, and the silver haired man literally throws himself at Matsumoto’s feet, preferring to face her wrath than a furious Eight division’s lieutenant.

That… in retrospect, that should have been a huge clue. Ichimaru was many things, but a coward he was not (unless it came to his feeling for Matsumoto, but that was another story altogether). For him to run and blow his cover - and his best chance at killing Aizen, was a sign that something big was going to happen.

But Aizen didn’t think about it, focusing his killing intent on his traitorous subordinate (he had known Gin had never been completely loyal to him, of course, but still, to betray him for a woman? He thought the other man was better than that) while keeping his attention on the new threat. Three fresh captains, along with the hybrid, the powered humans and the two other shinigami, could cause some trouble. But the lieutenant, Ise, intrigued him as much as she annoyed him. Had he underestimated her?

He saw her crouch at her captain’s side, saw as she handed him something – her glasses, he noted curiously – and frowned when he saw Kyoraku try to argue with her despite his injuries. He was too far to understand what they were saying, but it seemed as if Ise had won.

Aizen did a double take when he saw the Eight’s Captain hand over one of his swords to his lieutenant. That… she wouldn’t be able to wield it, it was not her own zanpakuto, it…

* * *

 _ **“Flower Wind bleeds and Flower God falls, Heavenly Wind Rage and Heavenly Demon fights”**_ Ise Nanao whispered.  ** _“Play, Okyou”_**

The world around them darkened. Sounds became muffled. The air thickened. And a shadowy form appeared next to the Eight’s lieutenant. It quickly solidified, taking the appearance of a young woman with short black hair, a single violet eye visible, the other hidden behind her bangs, clad in a dark blue attire similar to that of the Secret Corps. In the figure’s hands laid the same sword that Nanao was wielding.

“ **First game** ” Nanao called out, eerily calm now that she had her zanpakuto back. “ **Cat’s cradle** ”

 And she shot off on one side, Okyou on the other, shunpoing past Aizen and then exchanging sides, reishi strings roping themselves around the traitor as shinigami and zanpakuto brought their swords down.

The strings were quickly broken, but red lines of blood had appeared on Aizen’s body, and they were not healing.

The former captain was on his guard now, sword drawn, ready to unleash his illusions on the young woman and her strange accomplice, but that did not stop them.

“ **Second game** ” Nanao said “ **Blind man’s bluff** ”

Shunsui, from where he was lying on the ground, smirked despite the pain. **Blind man’s bluff** was his cute lieutenant’s favourite game. It was quite literally tailor-made for her. The ‘blind man’, in this case Nanao, would be blindfolded, taking her eyesight away. If she managed to hit her opponent, any attack would deal double the damage. At the same time, should she be unable to evade her opponent’s attack, she would also receive a high level of damage. Each time one of them was hit, the role were exchanged. Against Aizen, who could hypnotize people through their sight, it was a good strategy. Especially when one considered that Nanao was Soul Society’s best reiatsu sensor. She did not need her sight to know where her opponent was at all time. And Aizen had pretty high reiatsu, augmented by the Hōgyoku, while Nanao always wore at least two limiters on her person. He was basically a sitting duck to her.

It was a treat, really, to see her fight. It haunted him to break his promise to her mother, but he had always regretted keeping her from zanpakuto. They were a great team, Nanao and Okyou, a beautiful and haunting duo, dragging their prey down in a spiral of madness and children’s game. They were like cats in a way, always playing with their prey before finally granting them the swift relief of death… but only once they had begged them for it. They were dark, yes, darker than many other shinigami/zanpakuto pairs (though not darker than himself and Katen Kyokotsu– the amount of blood on their hands and skeletons in their closets was second to none save perhaps the captain-commander) and that was what had driven Nanao’s mother to make him promise that her daughter would never fight with her zanpakuto again.

* * *

 

Nanao had only been a child at the time, not even five years old, and she and Okyou had just slaughtered a pack of hollows who had attacked their small Rukongai settlement. Her mother had been nearly bisected by the monsters first attack, and Nanao had lost it. It had been the first time her zanpakuto had manifested, made of pure reiatsu as she had not yet been sent to the Academy and handed an Asauchi, and Nanao had gotten so caught up in her rage and in her sword’s bloodlust that she had nearly attacked her fellow villagers before collapsing from exhaustion after dismembering the last hollow. None of them had died, but a few had been injured and more had lost consciousness due to high amount of reiatsu she had emitted. The little girl had been close to death, her reiatsu overwhelming her, turning self-harming as she lost control.

The only reason she had survived was because Shunsui had been drinking in a nearby town to escape Lisa’s harping about paperwork, and had sensed the reiatsu explosion. Even then, it had been touch and go. His speciality had never been healing, and under normal circomstances Nanao should have died. She would have, really, were it not for their reiatsu compatibility. The captain of the Eight had been shocked when he realized that his spiritual energy was meshing perfectly with that of the small child, calming it down and evacuating the surplus into the ground so that it would not overwhelm her frail body. He had even been able to pick up Okyou without repercussion, and Katen and Kyokotsu had quickly reigned in the wayward sword (apparently the younger zanpakuto had tried to resist, and Katen had put her over her knee, but none of them spoke about it).

By the time she was out of danger, though still unconscious, the villagers were waking up and looking at her with fear and distrust. Her mother had been badly hurt by the first hollow, but had managed to drag herself towards them. With her dying breath, she had made him promise to take care of her daughter, and to make sure that she would never, ever use her sword again. It was too dangerous, she had said, to Nanao and to people around her. It was too dark, too twisted to belong to her little girl, she had said. It had pained him to hear her speak like that, because a zanpakuto was part of one’s soul, one’s other half, and forcing them apart was cruel and went against everything a shinigami was. He had promised that Nanao would never have to use her sword _in combat_ again, however, and had kept his promise to this day. He had sponsored her entry into the Academy after putting a spell on her that would prevent her zanpakuto from acting up or influencing her during her early years, had swept her up into the Eight as soon as she graduated. Her sword had remained quiet during her Academy years thanks to the spell, but awoke again when Lisa was hollowified. For the first time, Shunsui had seen them fight together, Nanao and Okyou, and he had needed to use both of his swords and his shikai to bring her down. She had nearly imploded because of her own reiatsu, again, and he now understood why her mother had been so scared for her, back when he had first met her.

Nanao herself was scared. She did not remember the first time she had unleashed her sword, but the second time had terrified her. She had attacked her captain! Her first reaction was to never touch her zanpakuto again. Shunsui had laid his foot down. He had seen what refusing one’s zanpakuto when it had already manifested could do to people, had had to put down a few of them himself when they went crazy, and he was not going to stand by and watch her self-destroy. So they had compromised.

Katen had already proven that she could keep the other sword in line, so Shunsui would be Nanao’s only zanjutsu training partner from now on. She would meditate and talk with her sword at least thrice a week. And in return, he would teach her kido and hado, to make sure that she would rarely have to use her zanpakuto outside of their spars, and he gave her reiatsu limiters to reign in her spiritual energy. Despite that, when it became obvious that her reiatsu and her sword were extremely sensitive to her emotions, and that she was having trouble controlling them both, they worked out a new system.

* * *

 

Their reiatsu were perfectly compatible, so no one had noticed when Shunsui started carrying Okyou with him outside of their spars. Kyokotsu loved hide and seek, and had agreed to keep an eye on the volatile sword while its wearer got her volatile reiatsu under control. Nanao had taken to carrying a tantô in her sleeve to keep appearances.

It had worked pretty well for them. Not even Juushiro and Retsu, who spent the most time around the two of them, had noticed. They thought “Okyou” was simply a nickname Shunsui had given Kyokotsu.

Time had passed, and Nanao had been working very hard on controlling both her sword and her reiatsu. Her kido was the best in Seiritei, though she kept it somewhat quiet, and their spars had become more intense as she learned more and more about herself and her zanpakuto.

It wouldn’t be enough to bring Aizen down, both Shunsui and Nanao know that. She is powerful, yes, but she has not yet mastered her bankai (she is getting there, though), and with the Hōgyoku augmenting him, she could not hope to defeat him.

It was good, then, that that was never their plan.

* * *

 

The traitor is bleeding from multiple wounds now, and none of them are closing despite the gem in his chest. He has tried to retaliate, of course, but the rules of Blind man’s bluff are in Nanao’s favour and she stands, unharmed, though panting slightly.

“ _How long are you planning on lazing about, Sakuranosuke?_ ”A voice in the back of his mind asked. “ _How long are you going to let her fight alone?”_

In his mindscape, he can see them, his zanpakuto. Katen, a tall, violet-haired woman with a red ribbon around her neck and a black eye patch covering her right eye, with her turquoise left eye, and her corkscrew pigtails, in her imposing dress. Kyokotsu, whose appearance is eerily similar to Okyou’s, the only difference being the colours. Her hair is violet, her one visible eye is teal, and her clothes are purple instead of blue, but for all intents and purpose she could be Okyou’s twin.

Both of them are looking at him with well-concealed impatience, and in the fake town Shunsui Kyoraku gently pushes away Unohana Retsu’s hand as he stands up.

* * *

 

“ _ **Flower Wind Rages and Flower God Roars, Heavenly Wind Rages and Heavenly Demon Sneers**_ ” The captain of the Eight unleashes his Shikai just as his lieutenant calls out a new game.

“ **Third game: Shadow Tag** ” Nanao whispers, echoing Shunsui’s call of **“Kageoni** ”

Attacked on multiple fronts, Aizen starts to fall back, to slow down. Not much, but enough.

A quick burst of reiatsu alerts Nanao to her captain’s plan, and she immediately calls out another game.

“ **Fourth game: Shell Play!** ”

Clones of herself appear around her, and Okyou herself is now surrounded by copies. Nanao is not a fan of this game. If she can hit her opponent without being caught, the damage is quadrupled. However, if he manages to find her or Okyou amongst the copies, she will take a considerable amount of damage herself.

 _“Oh well, I’ll just have to be careful not to be caught”_ The lieutenant tells herself as she starts a new attack, distracting her opponent from what her captain is doing.

* * *

 

Pointing his swords towards the ground, once he’s made sure that no one else was in the vicinity, Shunsui takes a deep breath. He would very much prefer it if Nanao was nowhere near him when he uses his bankai, but his lovely lieutenant is as stubborn as she is beautiful in his eyes, and he knows he needs her by his side.

“ _ **Bones of Heavenly Blooming Madness: Withered Pine Lovers' Suicide**_ ”

It’s nearly inaudible, but as soon as the first word is out of his mouth Nanao jumps back with Okyou, the copies vanishing as she puts a healthy amount of distance between Aizen and her. The reiatsu Shunsui is generating is heavy, nearly crushing them as they suddenly find themselves underwater.

_Despite what the Soutaicho once said about her, Nanao never needed anyone to teach her how to breathe._

She crouches behind her captain, her back to his as kido starts to burst from her hand, forming an impenetrable barrier between the battle and the battlefield. No one else will be affected if she has anything to say about it.

Next to her, Okyou stands guard. Nanao is vulnerable while she creates the barrier, and it’s a difficult one.

A second presence appears next to her, Okyou’s mirror if not for the different colour scheme. Invisible to all but Shunsui, Nanao and Okyou. No one will land a hand on her.

Nanao hears the heavy brushing of robes against the ground, and smiles. Katen is there too.

The barrier falls in place, and the lieutenant of the Eight Division stands up. Katen is on Shunsui right, as is her rightful place, facing their opponent. Kyokotsu at his left, guarding both him and Nanao. And Nanao herself at his back, Okyou on her left.

Pieces of a puzzle, fitting perfectly together.

Five souls, acting as one single entity.

Aizen never stood a chance.

* * *

 

When the barrier disappears, Nanao and Shunsui are standing, side by side, over the broken body of what was once a captain of the Gotei 13. A heap of red dust is swept away by the wind, all that remains of Urahara’s greatest and most dangerous creation.


End file.
